Project
Accelerating recovery of Bornean bearded pig
Initiative
Duration
2024 - 2025
Location
Malaysia
Species protected
Bearded Pig
Sub barbatus
Project description
The Bornean bearded pig, the only native pig species in Borneo and an important food source for many rural communities, was wiped out across much of its range by African swine fever in 2021. Small clusters of juvenile individuals survived the epidemic in scattered locations, seemingly at random, with most of these surviving groups found far from human communities. One particularly small cluster was discovered by chance, taking refuge in a remnant forest patch within an oil palm plantation, over 20 kilometres from the nearest large forest area.
Threats
Diseases
Project objectives
- Prevent the natural extinction of a small remnant cluster of Bornean bearded pigs that survived the 2021 African swine fever outbreak.
- Recover the population size of this cluster through a supplementary feeding programme to support nutrition, health, and reproductive capacity.
- Establish this cluster as a potential source population for future reintroductions into areas where the species was completely wiped out.
- Demonstrate that poaching is not always the primary cause of species decline, highlighting the importance of addressing nutritional and reproductive factors in species recovery.
- Promote a broader understanding of conservation strategies that go beyond anti-poaching, by focusing on sustaining ecological and physiological conditions for population recovery.
Project activities
- Provide root vegetables and commercial pig pellets as supplementary food at a site where natural food availability is likely limiting survival and reproduction.
- Plant native Ficus species as a long-term food source for Bornean bearded pigs within a remnant forest patch in an oil palm plantation.
- Monitor the bearded pig population using camera traps to assess health, behaviour, survival, and reproductive success.
This project is implemented by Borneo Rhino Alliance, Malaysia
